Current wireless mobile communication devices include microprocessors, memory, soundcards, and run one or more software applications. Examples of software applications used in these wireless devices include micro-browsers, address books, email clients, and wavetable instruments. Additionally, wireless devices have access to a plurality of services via the Internet. A wireless device may, for example, be used to browse web sites on the Internet, to transmit and receive graphics, and to execute streaming audio and/or video applications. The transfer of Internet content to and from wireless device is typically facilitated by the Wireless Application Protocol (“WAP”), which integrates the Internet and other networks with wireless network platforms.
A wavetable instrument is an application that digitally models a real instrument (e.g., a piano, etc.) using information from a wavetable file. A waveable instrument may allow a user to “play” songs by depressing one or more keyboard keys, etc., thus providing interactive audio.
The content of the wavetable file includes captured audio samples of the instrument combined with various configuration settings in order to provide an approximation of the sound of the instrument at any note or pitch. Downloadable wavetable content is wavetable content stored in a file having a specific file format that can be downloaded to a user system, such as a wireless device or personal computer, for storage in system memory or in the memory of the system's soundcard or audio synthesizer. In addition to wavetable instruments, downloadable wavetable content can be used for applications such as music for games, web pages, and polyphonic ringtones. Downloadable wavetable content can provide consistent sounding audio across all platforms while requiring only a fraction of the storage resources required by other audio files such as MP3s. Examples of downloadable wavetable data file formats include the Downloadable Sounds (“DLS”) file format from the Musical Instruments Digital Interface (“MIDI”) Manufacturers Association and the SoundFont® file format from Creative Labs, Inc.
Thus, wavetable content may be downloaded from a network such as the Internet by a wireless device for playback through a wavetable instrument application via the device's soundcard or audio synthesizer.
However, one shortcoming of present wireless devices and wireless communications systems is their inability to efficiently download such wavetable content to wireless devices. For example, optimizing the size and level of detail when creating wavetable instruments that are to be downloaded via network communications onto a push-enabled wireless device cannot be done in advance because capabilities of different wireless devices vary and the amount of resources (e.g., flash memory, remaining carrier-enforced data limits, etc.) available is limited and constantly changing due to the arrival of new messages, calendar appointments, etc. The need to efficiently download wavetable content is increasing in importance with the increase in the number of applications being run on wireless devices.
A need therefore exists for an improved method and system of downloading wavetable information to wireless devices. Accordingly, a solution that addresses, at least in part, the above and other shortcomings is desired.